Don't Take the Girl
by marybelle
Summary: Renee never left Charlie, so Bella lives in Forks with her parents. The story begins when Bella and Edward are seven and eight. [ Not very good at summaries. Please RxR! It will get better. I promise. ] Rated T for safety.
1. Proud Mary

**To those who read my **_**other **_**first chapter, I had to re-do it, because it wouldn't make any sense later on in the story, the way the family's were built. And I liked this one a lot better. Hehe!**

**This story begins when Edward is eight, and Bella is seven.**

**And As of right now, it's rated K. But it'll be increased later on. I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Or ****Don't take the Girl.**** Stephenie Meyer and Tim McGraw do, respectively. Silly them. P**

**Enjoy!**

**---**

_Johnny's daddy was taking him fishing  
when he was eight years old.  
A little girl came through the front gate  
holding a fishing pole.  
His dad looked down and smiled  
said we can't leave her behind.  
Son I know you don't want her to go,  
but someday you'll change your mind._

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

I grumbled as the alarm went off. It was Saturday, for crying out loud. I smacked the snooze button, too tired to turn it fully off, as I snuggled deeper into my Comforter.

"Jasper! Bella! Rosalie! It's time for breakfast!"

_Mommy_ was making breakfast? Something must be up. I, unwillingly, got out of bed and skipped down the stairs, as the scent of cinnamon waffles filled my nose.

"Hi mommy! Watcha doing?"

"I'm making breakfast, sweet heart. You almost ready?"

I looked at her, and cocked my head to one side.

She laughed at my expression, apparently it was really funny. "Silly Bella! We're all going to Alice's House, remember?"

Oh Yeah! "I knew that." I did. Mom was taking all of us kids over there while she and Esme went to 'run errands,' whatever that was, and daddy was taking Uncle Carlisle and Billy fishing while we played at home.

I heard a gagging noise behind me; Rosalie.

"You _aren't _thinking of going to her house like _that,_ are you?"

_Why_ did she have to be so… evil all the time? Like she didn't know I just got up. I rolled my eyes at her, returning her scowl.

"No, Rosie. She's going to go upstairs and get dressed. Duh!"

I smiled. Jasper was awake!

"Hi, Jazz!"

We did our super-secret doubly-private uber-duber hand shake.

Rosalie looked like she was jealous of something, but then she turned her nose up into the air and stalked off into her room.

"Alright, you two, time to get dressed."

- - -

_Breakfast, three changes of clothes (on Rosalie's part), and two arguments later…_

- - -

"All y'all ready to go?" Mom said as she watched Rosalie and I clamber into the back, scooting over to make room for Jasper in the little Honda Civic.

"Yep! We're going to have so much fun with Alice today, huh Bella?"

I didn't really get that much, so I just nodded furiously, causing my hair to shake up and down on my head.

Charlie was thrumming his fingers on the dash.

"Jasper Swan! If you're not out here by the time I count to three, we're leaving without you!"

Daddy was threatening Jasper! He never did that! I covered my grin in my hands. WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME! I'm turning into Rosalie! Only _she_ would laugh at someone who did that.

"COMING, DAD!"

Jasper stepped out of the house, in all of his glory. He was going fishing with Dad today, and he had all of his fishing gear on him. Fishing Pole, Bucket Hat, and even a fake Can of Worms were in his hands. I laughed when he almost dropped his Can of Worms. Why did he even _have_ that? It was totally empty, for crying out loud.

Mommy turned the car on when Jasper got all of his supplies in it, and "Proud Mary" started pouring out of the Radio. Rosalie scrunched her face, as if the music was not good enough for her. I started humming along to the music, whether to annoy Rose or just because I happen to like this song a lot, I didn't know or care.

Daddy started to sing aloud, and Jasper and I joined him, while Rosalie let out a little groan.

"Come on, Rosie! Sing with us!"

She shook her head and buried her head in her hands. "I can't _believe_ I'm related to you guys!"

On the second verse, Mommy's Cell Phone started to ring. She answered it, saying, "Memphis!" Then, she corrected herself. Like all good people who answer phones do. "Ciao, this is Renee!"

"Hey Esme! You ready for today?" Pause. "Oh, okay, yeah." Pause. "Yeah, I was feeling kind of buggy yesterday night, so I guess it's going around then," a longer pause. "Wait – their coaches got sick?" ten seconds of silence "Oh, that'll be fun." She put her phone on her shoulder, and whispered to Charlie, "They're going with you." Esme was shouting on the other end of the line; I could hear her from back here! "Sorry Esme. Okay anyways, Charlie has his spare poles in the back, but they might be a little long. I know they're too long for Bella, so Edward might -" I could practically hear her. It sounded like she said, "_Alice has a few, no problem." _Has a few what? "Okay, that'll work! Thanks very much, Esme, See you."

She looked at my dad and mouthed, _they got sick last night._ We kids didn't miss it.

"What?"

"But Alice NEVER gets sick!"

"…and we should care _because?"_

Jasper leaned over and whispered in my ear, "She should care about her precious _Emmett. _Do you _hear_ her at night? She always is saying, 'Emmy!! Emmy I love you, oh Emmy!!' It's _disgusting._"

We shuddered, and Rosalie didn't like that.

"DADDY! Jasper and Bella are making fun of me!"

We straightened up, looking at her with a glare that said _meanie._

"Well, it's true," Jasper said at the exact same time as I did. We grinned; there could be perks to the whole Twin thing. But then went back to giving her _the glare._

"Now, now. Don't make fun of anybody."

Rosalie was looking at me, and I could tell she was scheming.

"Well, I guess you can make fun of me if you want to. But I'm just glad I don't have a crush on Edward," she glared at me as she said this, which was totally unfair, seeing as I stopped crushing on him three years ago, "…or Alice!"

Mommy bit her bottom lip, trying to hide a smile as she said, "Touché."

Daddy got a little crazy, because he actually _unbuckled_ his seat belt and turned around! In a moving car, too!

"Daddy! You're a 'Please-men!'" (A/N: "police men – please men, ha-ha. They're seven, remember. ) Isn't that Illegal? Can you get _fired_ for doing that?"

Rosalie shouted, "Turn Around! You can't get FIRED! I won't let you!"

Mommy smiled, and daddy looked like he was going to burst out laughing.

"No, Rosie, I won't get fired." He smiled.

Mom muttered something that sounded a lot like, _so long as you don't get caught._

"Moving right along! Rose, Bella, Alice is still sick. But the boys are feeling a little better, so you guys get to go… FISHING! Won't that be fun?"

My jaw dropped. _Fishing? _Eww. That was not what I wanted to do all day. But, I knew how to grin and bear it. So I plastered the fakest smile in the world onto my face, and said, "Fishing! Yay." I rolled my eyes afterwards, and Jasper stuck his tongue out at me, like the seven-year-old he was.

Rosalie knew how to argue about this kind of thing, she had had a lot of practice regarding this matter, I knew that better than everyone.

"Aren't they supposed to be at Soccer Practice, though?" she said with her eyebrows raised.

"Rosie, the bug is going around. Soccer Practice has been canceled, because the coaches have caught it."

"So that means we can't go with them! We could get sick!"

"No, we can't, Rosie. We've had the Flu Shot." I said as she stuck her tongue out at me. I noticed she had tears in her eyes. Rosie didn't cry that often, over this kind of thing. Something else was wrong with my sister.

"Rosalie what's the matter?" I whispered. She was sad. I could help her.

"Bella, they're going _fishing._ Fishing is for _boys._" She looked at Jasper. "We are _girls._"

Oh no! She was right! None of my friends at school had ever gone fishing, and they all thought it was a _boy's_ thing to do. I started crying as I realized how right my sister was.

Mom started to laugh, and Daddy was trying his best not to.

"Rose, Bella, fishing is fun! I would go with you girls if Esme and I weren't going to Seattle for the day." My mom said. "And, when you get back, you can play with Alice until bed-time! Won't that be fun?"

I looked at my mom like she was crazy. Fish are gross. And the only reason to go _fishing_ was to _eat_ them.

"NO it won't be any _fun!_" I shouted. Mommy pulled the Civic onto the side of the road, and Daddy was facing me now.

"Isabella Marie Swan! You _will _go fishing, and you _will_ have fun!" he yelled at me. Daddy never yelled.

I started crying even more now. "You can't make me go! I won't!" Daddy sighed.

"Bella, I know you better than to think that there isn't something else bothering you. For real, why don't you want to go fishing?"

I whispered my reply. "They _eat _the fish, daddy!"

Charlie Chuckled. What was wrong with my parents today! They were laughing at me! How was this funny? They were taking fish out of their homes, and _eating_ them. How inhumane is that!

And Rosalie was even more upset than she had been in the first place.

"Honey, we aren't going to eat them. We already have eno-" THWACK. My mommy had hit his shoulder. She gave him a look that said, 'Stop talking NOW! "Err… when we catch them, we just... err… put them back in the water! Yeah! It's just a lot of… fun."

Hah. The level of _fun_ this trip would be was really small on my part.

And I still wasn't convinced. But Jasper nodded at me, with a big smile on his face.

"But DAD! Doesn't it hurt the fish, being taken up into the air like that?"

He looked a little bit nervous. "Well, you see, honey, -" He opened his mouth when mom said, really fast, too, "No, silly. We help the fish breath when we take them up for air!"

Charlie looked at her, pressing his lips together. That was the look he gave her when he was confused. He was clearly confused about going fishing.

"Okay, so you're saying the fish only breathe when people take them up into the air?"

That worked for me.

Dad looked relieved. "Yes, Bella. Fish take a breath when we pull them up for air, and they hold it until they come back up again!"

I smiled. So they were _helping_ the fish by taking them out of the water. I understood now.

But Jasper looked really confused, and he was about to ask a question about everything, But Daddy didn't let him, for one reason or another.

"So you ready to go fishing?"

"YES!" And I was really excited.

Rosalie looked at me like I should be in a Crazy person's hospital.

Mom started the car, and we were on our way again. We turned into the Cullen's driveway, and I started humming "Proud Mary" again.

**Remember, us authors /l o v e / reviews. We can't go on without them! On a more serious note, let me know if it's a waste of time or not. I am totally open to suggestions. And Constructive Criticism. (In fact, I'm even asking for it. But be nice, please. It is a little hard to write from a seven-year-olds perspective.) Remember – I'll stop here if I don't get at least three reviews. I mean, come on! It takes two seconds. Please?**


	2. Hugs

**A/N: Wow sorry it took me forever to update! My computer almost died and I was scared to touch it for a while. Ha-ha. And I had the dreaded writers block. EW.**

**I still don't own anything. Don't Sue Me!**

**Happy Thanksgiving!**

_Hugs_

"BELLLAAAA!!!"

My head popped up from my coloring book. On either side of me, Jacob and Edward were standing, grinning at me like idiots.

"Hi Jacob-"

Wait! What was Jake doing here? He was in South Carolina with his mother… I cocked my face to the side and bit my finger, something I did when I was thinking about something that didn't make any sense. 

"Bella?"

Edward was waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked twice, and then a huge grin broke out on my face. "JAKE!"

"Nice to see you, too Bella," Edward said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"What? Oh! Hiya, Edward! So wha-"

I was cut off by a shrill voice, and lots of giggling. "JACOB!"

It was Rosalie. Of course. Well, that was Rosalie for you. I rolled my eyes and wondered how many boys she liked.

"Hi there, Rosie!"

He waved at her, and she started to giggle furiously. I sighed and shook my head.

Suddenly, Jacob engulfed me in a slightly awkward hug, and mumbled, "Hi, Bella!" Then, he put both his arms around me, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Why was he hugging me? He never did that, even when he came back from his mom's house. When I decided I had had enough, I tried to pull apart, but he just squeezed me tighter. Holy Crow, I was going to suffocate. I looked at Edward from behind his shoulder, I was getting frantic.

He seemed to understand my expression, and the demand in my eyes, so he cleared his throat.

Jake didn't move, so I looked at Rosalie. Of course, she was steaming, and I gave up on her ever helping me.

Thankfully, Edward decided it was time to intervene.

"Bella, I think Alice is in her room, waiting for you." He sounded a little… irritated.

Finally, Jake let go, sighing. I ran up the stairs, careful not to look anybody in the eye. I looked down at Edward from the second story, a smile on my face. I mouthed,_ thank you_. He smiled, and said, "No problem."

I went up the rest of the stairs, and tiptoed to Alice's room. The door was cracked open just a bit, the sunlight streaming through the door from the window that was her back wall, and I could hear Alice talking to Emmett. So as to not be rude, I tapped on the door.

"Bella!!!"

I poked my head in, and looked around the room, the walls covered in posters of various Movie and Sports figures. "Hi, Alice!"

She waved at me, and then scowled at Emmett. "Don't be rude, idiot, let her in!"

Emmett stuck his tongue out, and walked over to the door and pulled it all the way open. "Hi, Bella!"

I smiled and waved at him, and sat down on the end of Alice's bed. As I did, I noticed the fishing poles poking out from under the bed. That reminded me… "Oh, do you know when we're going fishing?" I asked him.

He looked at me, probably wondering why I was asking when they were fishing. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Maybe in an hour or so. You tagging along, then?"

I nodded my head enthusiastically, but then stopped and sighed. "I don't have a pole, though."

"I have some for us!" I looked at Alice, her bright smile made me wonder. "You're coming with us?"

She nodded. "But aren't you sick today?"

She shook her head, and said, "No. I haven't been sick since yesterday, and so my mom said I could go today!"

So I wasn't going to go by myself, the only girl! I practically ran to her and started to happy dance, and at the same time, we were chanting, "We're going fishing! We're going fishing!"

Emmett sighed, and mumbled, _"Girls."_

"Bella and Alice are coming?"

I stopped jumping up and down, and I saw Jacob and Edward standing in the door way.

Edward scoffed. "I think the fact that they're dancing up and down and shouting should be a bit of a hint."

Jake looked at Edward, with an odd looking expression on his face.

"Is that a problem?"

Jake sighed. "Edward, do you really want to take _girls_ fishing? _GIRLS?_"

I started shaking, and I bit my bottom lip. It was the car conversation all over again.

Edward glared at him. "My mom can fish better than my dad can."

"So… you're saying that Girls can do things better than boys, right?"

"Well, yeah. I mean... no? No. No! Of course not!"

I looked at him. I though he supported my argument. Meeting Alice's eye, she obviously though the same thing. Humph. Together, we got up and pushed passed him and out to the hallway.

"Bella! Wait, that isn't what I meant!"

I ignored him and kept walking with Alice.

Jacob poked him and said, "Dude, that is _exactly _what you meant, and you know it."

"No, it wasn't, Jake! Quit putting words into my mouth!"

"I'm not! It's just that nobody seems to respect the things _men_ do."

Alice gripped my arm, and turned us both around. She looked like she wanted to say something pretty darn bad.

"JACOB! You're seven years old!"

He looked at her, blinking. Obviously he didn't know how big of lungs she had.

"So?"

"SO I don't think that you know what it means to be a _man._" She shuddered at the use of this word.

"Because if you were really a _man_," I cringed. _We're seven, for crying out loud, _"you would know and respect that we can do anything you can do!"

"Sometimes even better!"

Emmett nodded when Alice said this. "Yeah, Jake, have you ever tried to walk down a flight of stairs in heels? I did, once, and I was in the hospital for a week." Emmett said, as if he were extremely proud of this bit of information.

I glanced at Alice, and she had a blank look on her face, her eyes bulging. "You!!! You broke my heel, didn't you?"

Emmett froze, and I could tell that he knew he was going to be in trouble with Alice. He locked his jaw, now regretting he had said anything. 

I started giggling, and Jake opened his mouth to talk. "So you can't walk in heels. _And_?"

Wow. Jake was really making me angry today. Gur.

"_And_ you're ignorant."

I turned around on my heels, and I heard him mutter something under his breath. I didn't know what he had said, but I knew it was about me. And I was tired of everyone talking about me like I didn't exist.

Before I turned around to yell at him, I heard a _thud_.

Edward was standing there, trying to control his breath, like he was really angry. Then, I looked at Jacob, and he was standing there, holding his nose. I looked down at his t-shirt. It had little fleckles of red on it, like someone had painted a toothbrush splatter on the canvas that was Jacob's shirt. I looked back at Edward, and his fist was still clenched.

I started to smell the blood, rusty and salty in my nose. I closed my eyes, and started Breathing deeply through my mouth.

"Bella? You alright?"

I tried to shake my head, but then the room started spinning in circles, and then… nothing.

---

"Bella? Bella, honey, you alright?"

I smiled. Daddy was here. "Hi, daddy."

I heard my mother start to sob, and so I forced my eyes open. "Mom?"

"Oh, Bella! Don't do that to me again!"

"Renée, careful. You don't want her to black out again," Daddy chuckled.

I blinked a couple of times, recognizing that I was on the Sofa, with a tableside fan sitting on the coffee table, blowing air into my face, for which I was greatful.

"Hi, Bella! Are you alright?" Emmett asked. I could only nod, because I was looking at everyone's face. _Charlie, Renee, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper._ But then…

"Where's everyone else?"

Alice started fiddiling with her thumbs, and Jasper refused to meet my gaze. Rosalie looked at me, and she looked like she was about to cry. Emmett just turned around and was quiet, for once.

"Honey, Edward and Jacob got in a fight earlier. They're outside, having a good talking to."

They had been fighting? Fights aren't good. "But _what _happened?"

Esme sighed, and said, "Bella, Jacob and Edward were arguing, and then Jake said something, and I guess it made Edward really angry. So he hit him in the nose, and I think it might be broken."

Ohh! I remembered now. "Mom, he called me a-"

Mother cupped her hand around my mouth, and said, "Shh… Bella, I know what he said. This isn't the place to repeat it." She smiled weakly at me, and I nodded, though kind of confused. I was just about to say_ "He called me a name,"_ but I didn't know which name that was. Oh well.

Just then, Carlisle, Billy, Jake, and Edward walked through the back door. Carlisle and Billy both looked _extremely _disappointed at something or other, Jake wouldn't meet anybody's eyes, staring straight forward all the time, and Edward was marching like he had just won a state final football game.

Billy pointed at me, but he was looking at Jake, and then Jake came over to the sofa.

As he walked over, the room quietly filed up the stairs, all but Jake.

"Bella, I'm sorry I said that." He looked at me, and I sighed. I didn't want to deal with this, but it was now or never. "Yeah, I know Jake. You're forgiven." I sort of lied. I wasn't ready to forgive him yet, for calling me a name, but I had to get him off my back. I think he knew that, too. I shut my eyes again. "I… sorry." but then he sighed, and turned away, up the stairs. I could only tell because I could hear his footsteps fade.

I felt someone sit at the edge of the sofa couch, and on my feet, Edward. I guess he had come down the stairs when he saw Jake go up.

"Hi, Edward."

He chuckled. "Hiya, Bella!"

I smiled, but then I told him, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

He smirked. "Yeah, I know. But it felt good, just the same."

I yanked my head up. "Are you kidding me? You hit your best friend in the nose, and you come and say that it _felt good_?"

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Yep."

I just rolled my eyes at him. Sometimes there were times I understood boys, and times I didn't. This was one of those times. I know I didn't understand one thing, so I sat up slowly, and when the walls stayed where they were supposed to, I asked him, "Why'd you do it?"

He looked aghast, "Because he called you a name."

"What's your point, _Barbie doll?"_ I asked him, using his nickname for me.

He laughed, and then when I raised my eyebrow at him, he cleared his throat and looked at me. His emerald eyes looked like they were in pain, and then slightly amused. It was hard to explain _what_ they looked like.

"My point is, Bella, that Jake said something that was not just a silly nick-name. This was a _grown-up_ word," he said, his voice was grave.

I froze. Now I understood why my mother had not wanted me to say what she though I was going to say. The dreaded _grown-up _words. I shuddered. Now I knew I couldn't forgive him for a long time.

But how could he do this? I was one of his best friends. _Was._ That was the key word. Was, was was was was. I sighed. My bottom lip started trembling, and then I couldn't control it any longer. I broke down and started crying.

Edward sighed and got up, and came over to me to give me a hug. It felt nice, and not as awkward as my hug with Jacob had been. I smiled, and hugged him back. The silence was nice, but I had to say something.

"Thank-you."

He pulled back, and a crooked smile was plastered on his face, making me loose my train of thought for a minuet. "You're welcome."

I just stood there, gaping at him like an Idiot.

He laughed and said, "Let's go fishing!!!"

**A/n: Okay, again, sorry it took me forever!!! **

**Well, I was going to go in a completely different direction this chapter, but it just kind of came out. **

**Review? Please? Maybe we can get 15? I hope so!!! Much 3 to all those of you who have reviewed!!**

**Remember, the more reviews, the faster I type. And it takes two seconds to review. Just tell me what I did wrong, and how you liked it!! Sorry if it's a bit scrambled… **

**Happy Thanksgiving!**


	3. Clink

**A/n – Wow! I got over 20 reviews! Totally Happy-making! **

**Kay, I have some questions to answer then. Alice, Jacob, Jasper, and Edward are all Bella's age, Emmett and Rosalie are nine. C Jake gave Bella a hug because he was living with his mom and he hadn't seen her in forever. And he liked her. So I hope that answers some questions.**

**People said that the kids sounded older than 7. Ha-ha I would have to agree with you, I'm not too good at doing that kind of thing. SOO I have decided to make them a little bit older. (Okay, so 14 is more than a little bit.) This one should fit better with the age group. Hopefully?**

**Sorry about the longish a/n. **

**I don't own anything. Sigh**

**---**

_Seven years later, the Cullen's and the Swans are the best of friends. Jake is currently living with his Mother, in South Carolina. _

---

_Clink. Clink. Clink._

I grumbled as I stuck my hand out to shut off my Alarm Clock, but then realized that my clock woke me up with a Music Alarm, and it was Saturday. Humph. Maybe it was my imagination. But I knew that I wasn't _that_ creative, so I just sat there and hoped it was the old house.

_Clink. Clink. Clink._

Well, I wasn't counting on it. I sat up in my bed, immediately wishing I hadn't. Slowly standing up, I pattered to my door, yanking it open, expecting to see Jasper or Rosalie or one of my parents standing there, but there was nothing.

_Clink. Clink. Clink._

This time, I recognized that the _clinking_ came from behind me, like a rock on a glass window. Could it be a rock on a window? Maybe.

_Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. _

I rolled my eyes as I walked over to my bedroom window, and looked down on Edward Cullen, who was getting ready to throw another pebble. I sighed as I pulled it open, just as he launched the little rock. It flew past my head and landed on the wooden floor. Wood plus rock

"Holy Crow, are you trying to kill me or something, Edward?"

I said, not really whispering, but being quiet at the same time, while Edward was trying his best to hold back a smile. "Sorry, Bella. Anyway, thank you for finally waking up. Do you know how long I've been here, tossing my mothers garden pebbles?"

I flushed scarlet, remembering that I had been dreaming about an owl or something knocking on my window, for a really long time.

"Sorry… I'm a heavy sleeper."

"Yeah, I gathered that. Anyways, is it alright if I come up for a bit? I have to talk to you."

I just nodded and said, "Kay, but don't wake up my parents!"

Speaking of which, what time was it? I glanced at the clock, which read _5.27 AM._ Holy Crow, he had better have a good reason for waking me up,_ and_ sneaking in. or out.

I walked over to my rocking chair and slumped down to think.

What was Edward doing at my house at five thirty in the morning? If he wanted to talk to me, there was my phone… But then again, he _was_ Edward. And Edward had some pretty crazy ways of doing things. I just shook my head, trying to clear it of things that didn't make any sense.

_Thud!_

I lifted my head up, and there was Edward, who appeared to be dusting himself off. I looked at him, and wondered how he was here when I hadn't heard my door open.

"Good morning, Sunshine!"

I rolled my eyes as he sat down on my bedspread, and I asked him how he got here.

"Emmett dropped me off."

Oh, right. He had his license already. But that isn't what I meant. "Here in my bedroom, I mean? Without managing to wake Jazz?"

"Jasper isn't here." What? Of course he was. He was here last night, and he wouldn't sneak out without telling me first. I didn't feel like getting up to check, so I asked him where he was.

"He snuck out at about four this morning -"

"_What?"_

That wasn't like him. He was Jasper, and Jasper didn't sneak out. Ever. And it was four in the morning, too. Humph.

"Let me finish! Jasper snuck out with Alice, Emmett, and I. We would have brought you, but you wouldn't wake up. would have come to get you, but you wouldn't wake up."

I rolled my eyes at him, and then wondered why the heck he was sneaking out.

"So… why are you here? Instead of jasper, I mean?"

"Oh. Jasper had a little bit

He hesitated before he answered. "You know the vacant lot that sits across from the Thriftway?"

I nodded, I had been there many times before with Angela and Alice, there was the _best_ tree to study in, and it was so quiet and peaceful. I loved it.

"Well, they want to put a _Sarah Belle's_ up."

My eyes widened. That store was like… well… I couldn't think of a good idiom this early in the morning. "A _Sarah Belle's?_ Are you _SERIOUS?_ That's totally awesome!"

Edward's eyes widened. "Bella? Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Forgetting something?"

"The tree?"

Oh. Right. "Shoot. But it's a _Sarah Belle's!_ That is so awesome, but so… _not_ awesome."

He furrowed his forehead and said, "_That _does not make any sense."

I laughed at his expression.

"What?"

"I wouldn't have to explain this to a girl."

He rolled his eyes and said, "That's one of the perks of having me for a best friend."

Perk? I think not. But whatever.

"And it isn't just the tree, Bella. They can't build there."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, I'll show you."

It was times like these when I was glad I chose to shower at night. He stood up and held his hand out to me; I took it and he helped me up from my bed.

"Okay, but I have to leave a note for my mom." And do various other things.

He nodded and said he'd be outside. First, I walked over to my closet and grabbed the first thing I saw: a black sweat suit. I quickly yanked my feet through the pant legs and I just put the jacket on over the camisole that I had slept in. Not paying any attention to anything in particular, I put my hair up in a messy ponytail and ran to my bedside table, and grabbed the notepad and a pen and started scribbling on the page.

_Mom _

_We're with Alice, Edward, and Emmett. I have no idea when we'll be back, but it should be sometime soon. If you need me, call. I have my cell. If you can't get a hold of me, call someone else. They all have theirs, I think._

_Love you much, Bella._

I took a minuet to study my handiwork, and then I left it on the refrigerator down stairs where my mom wouldn't miss it. I turned and ran out the door, shutting it with just a little too much force. I stopped walking for just a moment, to see if I could hear my mom getting up, but there was nothing. I jogged down the steps.

"You ready to go, then?"

I nodded, and then looked around, as I realized something. "We're walking."

Edward looked at me and said, "You have a problem with walking?"

I sighed; walking wasn't exactly my problem.

"My slow, klutzy side usually decides to show up at times like these. _You,_ of all people, should know that."

He just laughed and for a moment, I was tempted to stick my tongue out at him like the three year old I was.

We were about half way down the street when I heard my name.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!"

I turned around, expecting to see my mom, but no. It was Rosalie. Crap, crap, crap.

"Rosalie, listen-"

"No, you listen to _me,_ young lady! You turn right back around this instant!"

I shook my head and started to speak, but Edward beat me to it.

"Rose, look. Bella is coming with me to an empty lot. Alice and Emmett are there, and there is something we need to deal with." I noticed he didn't say Jasper.

Rosalie sighed, and said, "Bella, come on-"

"Rose, please! Be the big sister every girl wants to have, I'm begging you!"

She sighed and said, "You know what? Fine. One condition, though. I get to go with you."

It was going to be a long day.

**Cliffhanger? Just a little bitty one. Kind of. Ha-ha.**

**Read&Review. C**


	4. Treetarian

**Before I begin, I just wanted to apologize for taking a **_**way**_** long time to update. I didn't mean for to be away for this long. But I've been having mid-terms and we were in the process of moving and with Christmas it was just too chaotic and I couldn't get on the computer. So enjoy, while it lasts. And I might not update for a while. (More moving and stuff) But if I do, it'll be short-ish. Oh, and sorry for any incorrect grammar / spelling and that kind of thing. It is a tad bit late and I got up early. So I'm tired. **

Chapter Four

_She sighed and said, "You know what? Fine. One condition, though. I get to go with you."_

_It was going to be a long day._

--

We walked and talked a little bit, but Edward was really the one who did all the talking, seeing as I had no idea why he was taking me here.

Finally, after about half an hour or so, we approached the vacant lot.

"So, now that you've dragged me out here at…" I glanced at my wristwatch. "Five in the morning, you want to show me _why?_"

He just sighed and motioned toward a thicket, pushing it apart to reveal what looked like an outdoor butterfly garden. I gasped, unsure we were at the same spot that I thought we were at, and then started looking around a bit more. I soon came to see that this indeed was the same dirty lot that I had known it to be. Though now, the grass was thick and green, not dead and dry, as I had remembered it to be. I could see the sky through the canopy; the beauty of the whole area took my breath away, and I could tell that it was a bit. Our favorite tree was as beautiful as I could remember - which amazed me, because I had been here maybe a little over a year ago. And even more amazing was that there were many different varieties of butterflies were fluttering around the tree.

"Holy _crow._ Edward, what happened to this place?"

"Well, maybe a month ago, the Oregon Silverpots started turning up, and I tried to get them to just shove off. But they were stubborn, and they just wouldn't leave. I decided to leave them alone for a while, but then a week later I came back, and they had multiplied, and more species had come as well. So I decided to make their live a little bit easier, you know, planting grass and flowers, and I even bought a couple of baby trees.

Edward looked at me, and I could tell he was trying to be a bit modest. I smiled at him, and my favorite crooked grin flashed across his face. I knew he was very proud of this place, and I couldn't blame him. It was so beautiful, and just magical.

"How can they want to tear it apart? To build a stupid department store, too! I just can't stand it!" 

It was the first time Rosalie had spoken since we got here; not Rosalie-ish at all. "How did you know that?" Edward asked.

"Emmett told me. And Alice told Emmett."

Edward seemed untroubled about this. _I,_ on the other hand, was getting a little bit ticked off. "Yeah, so everyone knew about the "save the butterfly" thing but me, then?"

Edward cringed. "Bella, I wanted to tell you. I did. But you were so busy, hardly ever coming out of your house to do anything, except for school. And you just seemed really stressed and irritated _all the time_ and I didn't want to have to add more onto your stress level, because I knew that if you knew, you would want to be out there twenty-four seven, and you would fall behind on your work. But now that school's out for the summer," _Finally,_ I said in my head, "I figured that I could come get you to help."

I was still kind of irritated, but even so, I had to appreciate the fact that Edward could be so…so… _Edward._ If that makes any sense.

"Okay, so now that we're here, and we know what's going on, what do we plan on doing about it? I mean, we can't stop them from coming in here with a bull-dozer, can we?"

Edward ran his fingers through his hair, and put his hand on his hip. I fought very hard to not burst out laughing, and _just_ managed to keep a straight face. "Well, Bella, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. There isn't anything that says that they can, or that says we can keep them out," he said, looking at nothing in particular.

"So I guess we're on our own, then."

Rosalie smiled, though it was not a happy smile, but more like she was thinking about something mischievous. "Actually, little sister, we're not."

"What? Rose, what do you mean?"

Rosalie spoke to Edward to answer my question.

"Tell me. Do you know what kind of butterfly this is?" She asked, pointing to her shoulder where a tiny blue butterfly, only about an inch long, sat. "No? Well, this is a Smith's Blue."

Smith's Blue… _Smith's Blue…_Where had I heard that before?

"What does the butterfly have to do with it?"

Then I remembered; fourth hour. We were talking a bit about endangered species and giving reports on them, and Angela Weber had given one on the Smith's Blue. "It has _everything_ to do with it! Edward, the Blue is on the Endangered Species list!"

"Exactly. Along with many others that I see here."

"So they aren't allowed to do anything to the place! Oh my Carlisle… We have to get a lawyer. And for a lawyer, we need money, and then we can go to court, and then we can stop them from doing anything!! Oh, this _rocks!"_

"Yes, Bella, but let's not count our chicks. We, as you said, need money. But we can't get money unless we either ask our parents, or get a job. Now, as we are only 14, we can't. So no income there, unless you can count a bit of money for babysitting and odd jobs, then there isn't anything _we_ can do to earn some money."

"I'll pitch in, and Maybe Emmett as well. And Mom and Dad and Carlisle and Esme. And we could do an awareness project, or something. And we all know bake sales are fun to do."

"Thanks, Rose," he added with a grin. "Anyway, we need to figure out what we can do to put this off as long as we possibly can. Any Ideas?"

I racked my brains for an idea. "What about going on a food protest?"

"Bells, what are they going to care if we're starving ourselves? It's a good idea, but I don't think they'll pay us any attention." Rosalie said.

"Well, yeah, you're right, I guess. We could also do like a sitting protest. Like where you cuff yourself to a building or a tree or something and swallow the key and they can't slam the building down because you're Cuffed to it, or something."

Edward put his hand on his chin, and after a while, said, "That is a _really_ good idea."

"Of course it is, it was mine."

Edward chuckled and continued. "That is a good idea, but I don't think that we'll have to do that _just_ yet. It is still a bit early for something like that, I think. After all, we have to wait for the bull dozer's to get here before we have to do that."

I sat down on the grass and then put my hands on my chin and started to think.

"I think we need to buy a big, fat, notebook and record all of this stuff so we don't forget."

Edward and Rosalie nodded.

"And where are Jasper and Emmett and Alice?"

"Right here!"

My head popped up, and swiveled around to find them coming into the meadow. I hopped up, and then went to Alice. "So like what have you guys been doing?"

"We were making T-shirts, to protest and such," she reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a white Tee that had an outline of a cartoonish tree on the front of it, and at the bottom it said…

"**T R E E T A R I A N "**

And passed it to me. She pulled out many others like this and handed them out to the entire group. I looked at mine, and I suppose it had just dried, because the fabric paint was a little bit soft (but not so much that it would ruin the shirt.) So I pulled mine on over my hoodie. "Cute, Alice!"

"_Cute _is not the point. The point is to get the point across to the others, little sister."

"Yeah, and it'll catch the attention of the people, therefore getting the point across, _because _it is cute. And you're older by two minuets, Jazz!"

"Same difference."

"So not. Oh, and Mom called. I told her we were all hanging out together, and she asked where you were, because I guess she called you and you didn't answer, and she said to call her if we need cash or a ride or something."

"Mom called?" Whoops. I pulled out my phone, and there it was – one missed call. I must have had it on silent.

"Yeah, mom called. Don't change the subject. I'm older and wiser and more mature and all that."

Edward coughed a little bit, and then when Jasper and I kept bickering, he said, "MOVING RIGHT ALONG. Jazz, Alice, and Emmett. Rosalie has unearthed a little bit of important information. There are a couple species of butterflies in here that are on the Endangered / Threatened list. So, they shouldn't be able to build here."

For a fraction of a second, Alice had a look on her face that made me think that she hadn't made up her mind as to whether or not she wanted the Department Store to be built. But then she started jumping up and down, and said, "So awesome! So like, since they can't build here, we can just have fun again, right?"

Emmett spoke up for the first time. "Alice, I really don't think that if we go up to them and say, 'Hey, there are endangered butterflies on your lot, so can you pick a different one to build on please?' that they'll just agree to it. I'll be darned if they don't tell us to butt out of their business like good little boys and girls."

Rosalie scoffed. "Right. So we need to raise awareness. Alice, these are the cutest shirts ever-" Jasper muttered something that sounded an awful lot like _girls_ " – so do you think you would be able to make up some more, with a story on the back about how they can't build here? In a nice green, maybe? Or a different style, with a butterfly on it?"

Alice was thinking, probably about design elements, and then nodded. "But I'm going to need someone to write the awareness message." Jasper immediately said, "I'll do it, and Edward can help."

"What about a couple of sponsors?" I asked. It would help a lot if we could get the word on the street.

"Dad can help from the hospital, maybe Charlie for the Station. And if we need to, we can go around to the Thriftway and the Old person's house or whatever it's called," Emmett said.

"Yeah, that would be so cool!"

"Awsome!"

"Let's do this thing!"

"Okay guys! We've gone really far today. Let's just relax now, have a little bit of fun!" Edward exclaimed, and then grabbed the duffel bag Alice had brought. He pulled out two six-packs of water bottles from the bag and then dumped a huge pile of various water flavoring, food, snacks and candy onto a flat rock.

_What a day this has been. I woke up to Edward, tapping on my window, and now I'm eating lunch while planning on saving a million butterflies and a huge tree. Who knew?_

--

**Read&Review. C**

**Oh, if you're wondering… I got "Treetarian" from Vegetarian. It's a totally made up word, and it means "SAVE THE TREES." Haha. **


	5. Pool Hall

**Kayy…The name might change, because it doesn't fit in with **_**all**_** of the story line, which it was supposed to, originally, but now it doesn't. Ha-ha. It will later on, though.**

**I don't own. **

**Chapter 5**

_One week later…_

I was sitting in my room, waiting for Edward to call. Quickly, I glanced at my wristwatch, 10.30 AM. He was supposed to be here half an hour ago, with all of our little "Treetarian" stuff. Needless to say, I was a little bit worried. So I flipped open my phone and dialed his number. "Bella?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

He hesitated for a minuet. "Sorry I didn't call you. I'm in my mom's car right now; she's trying to find her keys or something."

"That's okay. So what have you been doing?"

"Basically, I've been looking for our notebooks and stuff. But I've run into a bit of a problem with that. See, Alice left for her Fashion show in New York. Not a super major one, but where she could learn a bit about that kind of thing."

What was he telling me this? Alice didn't take the notebooks, did she? But of course she did. I groaned.

"Yeah…" he said, "when I called her on her phone, she said she wanted to have a bit of _fun_ with the Tee Shirt design."

"And she needed to take _all the notes?"_

He scoffed. "Yeah. Apparently, she hasn't been paying attention to anything we've been telling her about the whole thing, and she said, _'I need to bring the notes along to fully appreciate what we're doing, thus making my designs better.'_ I can tell you right now, I am going to put them under lock and key when she gets back next week."

When he finished, I started laughing.

"What's so funny, then?"

"It's just so _Alice_ of her, to do that! Her inner designer."

Edward made a gagging sound.

"What? It's true. And besides, I think she thinks that this is the one way that she can really help out with this."

"But that's the thing. She should know better than that, because she has had some pretty awesome ideas."

"Well, yeah, but she is totally awesome at designing, and it makes people pay attention. Cut her a little slack."

Edward sighed. "That's the problem with you. Always bringing out the best in people."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No, but I'm just saying. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, you know."

"Seriously? Crap. I'm in trouble now."

"Don't worry. Chocolate doesn't count. Your metabolism is much too fast and you burn it off anyway."

He snickered, and I stuck my tongue out, even though he wasn't here. I had half a mind not to hang up on him. But a question burned in my throat, and I wouldn't be able to ask it if I did. "And who says I've been eating Chocolate?"

"Jasper snuck into your room last night when you were asleep to get a pair of socks or something out of one of your drawers. The Symphony bars I gave to you were gone with the wrappers left, and there were like a hundred different kinds of Hershey Kisses on the bottom of it."

"Remind me to kill Jasper later."

He just laughed.

"Okay, on a lighter note…If you're not coming with the notes, then what are we going to be doing?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie or something?"

That was unexpected.

"Er – "

"I mean, it's fine if you don't, I just thought – "

"Well, no, I mean, that's fine. But I just don't have any cash or anything…"

"Oh. Yeah, I don't have any either. Ha-ha, I feel smart now."

I chuckled. "Well, we could just hang out here, or something."

"Actually, ask Charlie if it would be okay if you came over to my house for the day. I have something to show you."

This was a nice change of pace. I hadn't been over to the Cullen's house in at least half a year; they had all banned us from there temporarily because of 'renovations.' Of course, my parents were over there a lot, and they were always talking about something that was supposed to be a 'secret'. So I investigated.

"Something to show me? Like, your house is done?"

"Yeah."

"Something that would take all day to show me?"

"Kind of."

"Like what?"

"You'll see. Just ask him, okay? Then call me back."

"Okay, then."

"Call me soon, okay?"

I sighed. "I will."

Then my parents called me from downstairs. "Bella!"

"Gotta go," and snapped my phone shut. "Coming mom!" and went out to the hallway and leaned over the banister. "Yeah?" Charlie looked up at me and said, "Who have you been talking to?"

"Edward."

"Oh. Right. Well, your mom and I are going out for the day with Jasper and Rosalie, and we wanted to know if you wanted to get out of the house for a bit."

As I answered, I pulled my hair into a hair-tie. "What – with you guys?"

"Well, we're going out of town, to do a bit of shopping, and I know you've been asking for a new pair of shoes for a while now."

I bit my finger. "Well, mom, Alice has a pair of the shoes that I was wanting, and they don't fit her. Her dad says she's done growing, and she bought them on sale. So she has to either throw them away or let them clutter up her closet."

"Oh, okay then. So what are you saying?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to go hang out with Edward for the day, if that's okay?"

Charlie closed his eyes, and he looked like he was trying to empty himself of all emotions that were brewing. But before he could say anything, my mom said, "Of course, if it's okay with Esme?" I nodded, and she said, "Well, what are you two going to do today?" I shrugged, and said that he had wanted to show me something. Or whatever.

"Well, we aren't going in that direction of town, so do you think you could get a ride today?" I nodded and explained that Edward was actually on his way right now, and smiled apologetically.

"Okay, mom, you guys get going now! Don't want to be late." I quickly shuffled down the stairs to give my mom and dad a hug and a good-bye, and practically forced them out the door, then pulled out my phone and dialed Edward.

"Hey, my mom said I could go."

"Oh, awesome. We still haven't left to come get you; my mom _still_ hasn't found her keys yet. But we'll be there soon. When we get there, is it alright if I let myself in? I have to go get something from Jasper's room."

I nodded, but then remembered that we were on the phone. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll probably be in my room or somewhere upstairs."

"Okay." In the background, I heard the sound of a door slamming. "That'll be my mom. So I'll see you soon, kay?"

"Okalie-Dokalie. Bye bye."

The line disconnected, and then I walked up my stairs to listen to a mix. I don't know how long I sat there; it could have been an hour, or five minuets. But sooner or later, I heard Mrs. Cullen's car pull up in the driveway, and the front door being opened.

"Bella?" Edward Called.

"Up here!" I said, and then heard his footsteps come up and then fade into Jaspers room. I took the chance to go into the bathroom and wash my face for the third time this morning. I still couldn't hear Edward, so I took out my phone and started making dorky faces into the mirror, and then taking a picture of myself. About ten minuets into this, Edward opened the door while I was sitting on my Counter, and because he didn't knock, being the nervous klutz that I was, I fell off on my butt, behind the door.

"OMC Bella are you alright? Holy snap what did I do?"

Then he walked in and shut the door, so as to see me, and then we held each others gaze for a second before we both burst out laughing, and in a second, slid down the cupboard doors because he was laughing so hard.

"Knock Knock!"

The door opened slightly, and Esme Cullen came forward into the large bathroom to see her son and I sitting on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. "What's going on?"

"I… Bella… fell… she… counter!" Edward said between laughing spasms.

Esme just smiled and said "Come on, Dearest. We should go." Esme held out her hand to Edward, and then Edward got up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up and out the bathroom door.

"We'll be in the car, mom!"

Before I could protest, we were already down the stairs and heading towards the door.

"Mom's gotta pick something up from Renee. She's going to lock up."

"Okay then."

I glanced at him and met his gaze, and then we, once again, started laughing, and only stopped when Esme turned on the car.

"So what are we going to be doing this morning?"

"You'll see."

"Esme! Make him tell me what torture I've submitted to," I pouted.

"Bella, you'll have fun. I promise."

Esme wasn't telling me? This must be big. Soon enough, we arrived at the Cullen's house, which looked even more beautiful than I had remembered. The house had a fresh coat of paint, with a newly added black picket fence going around the perimeter of the back yard. Just a fence and new paint? Not enough to keep everyone away for half a year.

"Now, Bella Darling, you need to go change…"

"Change?"

"Well, you don't know, I suppose. But just go put this on, and then come out to the living room." As she spoke, Esme thrust a shopping bag into my hands to the back seat. "Your mother picked that out herself, mind, so just go along with it."

Edward opened his door, and then held it out to me.

"Thank-you. Now what exactly am I supposed to be putting on?"

Edward just shrugged and said, "I'm not sure, exactly. But if you need to, you can use one of my Tee Shirts or something."

"For what?"

He just shook his head and said, "Inside to change, now."

"Does my mother know about this?" I asked. Edward smiled and then nodded. "It was kind of her idea."

Hmph. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad, or maybe it would be twice as bad as I feared. Ugh. I started to walk up to their front door and then went to the bathroom and set the bag onto the counter and locked the door. Then, I slowly put my hand into the bag, and took out a white card board box and slowly removed the lid.

_Oh my Carlisle, what the heck was my mother thinking? _I thought as I stared down at a bathing suit. It was a lime green one-piece, thankfully, with a little bit of a skirt at the end. I couldn't wear this! This was a _really_ hilarious joke. My mother knew I didn't swim. And, even if I did, what was the point of having it over here? They didn't have any water sport things. _Funny, Mother._ Then I started to go into hysterics, which must have alarmed someone.

"Bella?"

I slowly opened the door to find Edward, still in his Jeans and Tee Shirt. I was still laughing, and he looked a little bit frightened.

"Um yeah… What on earth is this?" I held up the suit, and Edward laughed. "_That,_ Bella, is a bathing suit."

"Clearly. Why the heck is it in the box?"

"Because _we_ are going swimming."

I snorted. "And since when do you have a pool?" I peeked behind him through his glass French doors to his backyard, and it was the same as I had remembered it.

"Since we renovated. Come on, I'll show you," he said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out the back door toward his garage, which looked quite a bit bigger, and said, "We turned it into a pool house."

"Seriously? That's… cool, I guess."

"Yeah. It's got like two bedrooms and a game room and a pool. It's awesome."

I groaned. "I don't swim." He laughed, and then I said, "Seriously! I hate water! I fell into a creek like when I was nine, and then I was in mud and icky fish things and… stuff." I shuddered.

"Bella, come on. That was like five years ago."

I shrugged, and then said, "So? I was practically scarred for life." Edward laughed again, and then started to open the door.

"After you."

"Fine. I'll go, but I'll be mad at you." He laughed, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

I walked in, and then I couldn't believe my eyes. This place was totally… for lack of a better word, _awesome._ The first thing I saw was a Flat screen TV surrounded by couches and bean bag chairs, and then there was a Foosball table and a Pool table and even a little Kitchen.

"Holy _snap,_ Edward, why did you guys do this?"

He shrugged, and said, "Well, it was kind of a late Christmas present, from all of us for all of us. We all pitched in."

"Yeah…"

"So, I'm going to go to the hall… The bathroom's right there," Edward pointed to a door, "and the Pool's through here." He walked to yet another door, and then said, "Hurry up, 'Kay?" I just nodded, and then turned into the bathroom to put on the stupid bathing suit.

I was _so_ not going to forgive him for this.

**Holy snap. Longer-than-it-was-supposed-to-be-chapter. Ha-ha I couldn't decide when to end it. So yeah.**

**R&R. C;**


	6. Ow, Bella!

**Hey guys. I've got a new story going on right now, but it's not really a story. (Yet.) You should totally r&r. It's called **_**Waiting in the Wings.**_** And I have big plans for it. C; **

**Chapter six **

When I looked at myself in the mirror, my first thought was, _who IS that? _She looked confident, like nothing could bring her down. Everything I didn't, actually. But then, I thought, _why am I like this? It's just Edward. Not like he hasn't seen me in a bathing suit before. _I shrugged it off, and then went through the living area into the pool hall.

The room was different from all the rest. It had huge glass windows, and it was well light. It was a fairly large rectangular pool, with clean, clear, blue water. A diving board was situated at the further end, which was currently occupied with Edward. Given that, I figured it was maybe eight or nine feet deep over there. I put down my towel on a plastic pool chair and walked timidly over onto the tile that lined the pool. I didn't get in yet, because I wanted to take it in all at once, without having to get used to it.

_SPLASH._

Edward had finally jumped off the board, and when he surfaced about five seconds later, he shouted my name. "Took you long enough!"

"I'm here now, though."

"Get in, then!"

I shook my head, and then explained to him that if I got in now, I would get all cold and stuff. Easier to take it all in at once.

He sighed dramatically and swam over to me and said, "Help me out, then."

I looked at his suspicious looking arm, and then I grabbed it, and yanked on it. He didn't seem to be trying to come out, and then he smiled mischievously.

_Oh, Snap._

He pulled on my arm, and sent me flying into the water, screaming. Why couldn't I have been heavier? Or at least, Edward didn't have to be so strong.

_SPLASH._

My body hit the water, hard. It was warmer than I had expected, and my body was covered in little bubbles that tickled. I floated downwards until I hit the bottom, then kicked off and resurfaced, sputtering.

"You… I… ARGh."

I splashed Edward – who was _laughing_ at me – out of frustration. Which, of course, only made him laugh harder.

I swam over to him and smacked his arm, and then he started laughing again. When I looked at him with a glare in my eye, he struggled to compose himself and said, "I mean… OW. Bella." He snickered, "That hurt."

We held each others eyes, and then we started laughing for the millionth time today. "We can't all be freakishly anti-pain."

We continued to splash around, diving off of the diving board into the deep end and just basically doing what best friends do together.

A couple of hours later, we were in the kitchen, getting a bite to eat.

"You want a smoothie?"

I nodded, and then said, "I'll be right back. Answer my phone if it rings, 'Kay?" He nodded, and opened up the little mini-fridge/freezer and started shuffling through it.

I turned to the restroom, and shut the door behind me. Suddenly, I heard through the door that my phone had started ringing, playing a recording of _She's My Ride Home_ by Blue October. Jessica's ring tone.

_CRAP._ Jessica had had a mondo crush on Edward since Kindergarten. And if _he_ answered _my_ phone, I shuddered to think at what might come out of her mouth. "Edward – DON'T ANSWER IT!"

Even as I shouted through the door, I knew that it was too late.

"Hello, this is Bella's phone, how may I help you?"

I wrenched the door open, and then said, _"Give me my phone!"_

Normally, I'm sure he would have, but somebody was talking to him.

"No… this is Edward Cullen. Do you wanna talk to Bella?"

I winced. This would so not be good. I held my hand out reluctantly, and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Bella."

I winced again. "Hi, Jessica."

"So you and Edward, then."

"Jess, no, it isn't –"

"Whatever, Bella."

I knew this was coming, but still, it stung to hear how little faith she had in me.

"Jessica!"

"Just shut it, okay? I don't want to hear it."

"No, I won't shut it! I won't, not until you hear me out!"

Through the phone, I could hear her scoffing. "Amaze me, then."

I took a deep breath, then made my way over to the sofa and sat down.

"Jess, first of all, you have to know Edward and I are _just friends,_ right?"

There was the sound of a blender turning on, and Edward coughed.

"Yeah, and I used to believe you. But you're with him?"

"And that's a problem?" I mean, come on. I hung out with him _all _the time at school. She chooses now to complain?

"But outside of school?"

"Yeah, so? You know I've been over here before."

"Alice has been there."

"Alice? What does she have to do with this?"

Silence.

"Oh, I understand. You think I'm so shallow that I would wait until I _got him alone_ to _make a move?_ Jessica, did you hit your head or something, so hard that it altered your brain?"

And I hung up.

I looked at my phone and then chucked it across the room.

"Wow, Bella, somebody has a bit of a temper problem."

Edward was somehow sitting on the couch beside me, and handed my phone to me, and set a smoothie on the coffee table. I was amazed that I hadn't smashed it to a billion bits.

"So what was that all about?"

"Jessica got a little bit… Jealous, I guess."

"Because?"

I looked at him, and said, "'Cause I'm over here."

He looked confused. "Yeah, and?"

I looked him in the eye, and said, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?"

He nodded, so I continued.

"Jessica has had a _HUGE_ crush on you since… well, a while." No need to tell him how long. I didn't want to scare him.

"Jessica?"

"Jessica." I clarified.

Some emotion was hidden behind his eyes, something that I couldn't decipher.

"What about Newton?"

"She likes him, but not as much as you."

He groaned, and I cringed.

"Eric?" he asked, looking hopeful.

Wow… he really did not want Jessica to like him. I said, "I will tell you how she feels about Eric. This is a direct quote, mind. 'A concrete wall has more personality than him.'" Which, of course, was not entirely true. I was friends with Eric, and he had a good sense of humor.

"Harsh."

"That's the inside workings of Jessica Stanley's mind… I can understand why she's freaking out. Cut her a _little _slack."

He looked at me, seriously confused.

"For what?"

"Oh, come _on._ You have to know that probably eighty percent of the Female Student body has, sometime over the past nine years, had a crush on you."

He stopped blinking. "Seriously?"

I started laughing. "You didn't _know_ that?" he shook his head, a dazed look in his eyes. "How did _you_ know that?"

"Has a girl ever, like, flipped her hair or something, and then started giggling if you walked past them?"

"Oh, _That's_ what was running through their minds."

"Yeah."

"You should write a handbook on girls, describing what they do so we can know that they aren't just psychotic."

I laughed, and then said, "Edward… I'm sorry, but I kind of nudged her in that direction."

He glared at me, and I looked at him, apologies in my eye.

"Well, that's what you do, when a girlfriend likes one of your guy friends! You encourage them!"

He didn't say anything, so I said, "Sorry, then."

"That's alright. It's what I get. For hanging out with a girl all these years."

I smacked his arm, and he rubbed it in mock pain.

"Can I ask you something, though?"

He picked up his smoothie and nodded.

"Doesn't it bug you, that guys and girls can't be friends without everyone jumping down their throats all the time?"

"Totally."

He picked up a Jolly Rancher and threw it at me, and then hid behind the couch. I smiled and then grabbed a handful and then tossed them behind me, and I heard the clunk of them hitting the carpet, and a few knocks, signaling that they hit Edwards head.

"OW. Bella, that hurt."

---

**R&R.**


	7. Private Eye

**Hey Guys! Listen…**

**So sorry about not updating. You blame me; I blame the fact that I have a life. XD**

**I **_**really**_** want to get back into the whole "Replying to Reviews" thing. I'm **_**really**_** bad at that. Sorry. And to all the reviewers – THANK YOU! You make my day. And sometimes make me laugh. For which I am grateful. Much Love from Mary.**

**I don't own.**

**Ch. 7**

It had been two days since Jessica had called.

She still wasn't answering my phone calls and I decided that leaving four messages was taking it a bit far. Jess was one of my best friends, and without her or Alice, there was nobody to talk 'girl talk' with, besides Rosalie, and she didn't want to talk to me. Of course I had Edward, but when I called him at six in the morning to tell him about a dream I had about becoming the next Mrs. Jack Carpenter, it didn't go over well. After that, he was kind of distant for some reason, and that furthered my bad mood.

All in all, I was really moody without my girl friends around.

Just as soon as the thought entered my mind, the landline started to ring. I slowly walked downstairs to the kitchen counter and looked at the Caller ID.

_Alice Cullen_

Oh, wow. Fate was on my side today.

"Alice!"

"Bella? Oh my gosh! Hi! How are you? Is Jessica being a prick? Has she talked to you? Have you had any fun without me? Why aren't you answering me?"

"Alice! Slow down! Jeeze… Let me get a word in!"

"Sorry… So what's going on with Jessica?"

"Well, she got all pissed because I was hanging out with Edward in your Pool House."

"_WHAT?"_

"Yeah! She started to yell at me and then it got so ridiculous that I chucked my phone across the room."

"Oh, Jeeze, Bella! I'm sorry! Jess needs to cool it a little bit. But Edward wasn't supposed to show that to you until I was there! Ugh. Remind me to stab him when I see him, okay?"

I chuckled. "Okay, Alice."

"Okay, now tell me _everything_ that happened with Jessica."

I sighed, and then went into an extremely detailed account of what had happened two days ago.

"…And now, she's not answering any of my calls and she's ignoring me. Knowing Jessica, she's probably talking trash about me! Alice, what do I do!?!"

"Hm… I think you should just let her be all jealous. If she wants to hang out with Edward, she should talk to him. It isn't your fault that you're his friend."

I sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"And as for her talking trash about you, well… just let her do her thing. She only embarrasses herself. Trust me, I know."

"How do you _know,_ exactly?" 

Alice snorted on the other end. "Yesterday, she called me in New York at two in the morning. Totally ignorant of the time zones, but that isn't my point. She calls me and starts screaming into the phone about what a total back-stabber you are. And I said to her, 'Listen, Jessica… You're my friend, and I love you. But Bella and I are soul sisters. To insult her is to insult me.' And I hung up the phone. It was totally awesome."

At that moment, I fully appreciated Alice and what she has done for me. I knew, in that moment, that she was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. So much that I felt a tear trickle down my face.

"Oh my gosh, Alice, I wish you were here so I could give you a hug!"

"I'll remember that when I see you next time."

Dangit. Someone started knocking at the door.

"Listen, Alice, I gotta go. But I'll call you later, alright?"

Whoever was there was knocking again.

"Bye," I said as I hung up.

_Knock, knock, knock.  
_

"Patience is virtue, Jeeze…" I said when I was close to the door. As if to prove me wrong, the person behind the door started banging on it again.

I wrenched it open and almost started yelling at the short, pixie-like fourteen-year-old girl standing in front of me.

"ALICE!!!" I screamed. "Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?"

"Where's my hug?"

I screamed again and as I dropped the handset onto the hardwood floor, we hugged. I was _so_ relieved to have Alice here so I could talk to her about everything.

But then I was mad.

"Mary Alice Cullen. You did _not_ get thrown out because of me!"

"No, silly! I got thrown out because I was yelling at Jessica."

"Alice! That isn't funny!"

"But seriously, it's no big deal! All the shows were crappy and everyone was falling and tripping over their dresses and such. I was actually debating on coming home anyway."

"Awh, Alice, I love you lots. But I'm still mad at you for getting yourself kicked out," I teased.

"Love you, too, Bella." She got up from her chair at the kitchen counter, and I gave her a hug. We sat in silence for a moment, for which I was grateful for.

But the stupid phone started ringing again.

I sighed as I picked up the handset. "What?"

"Sorry… is this a bad time?"

"No, it's fine. Sorry. Who is this?"

"Bella! I'm shocked you don't remember the sound of my voice. It's only been what… two days since I called you last?"

"Oh! Hey, Jake. Sorry. I'm just kind of irritated."

"Like I said… Is this a bad time?"

I quickly glanced over at Alice. I didn't want to talk on the phone all the while she was here. She seemed to be preoccupied with her cell phone, so I continued.

"No, no! It's fine!"

"Well, that's good. Guess what I'm doing right now!"

"What?"

"I'm packing!"

"Packing? For what?"

"Bella… I swear. You can be so slow sometimes. I'm coming home!"

"Oh my gosh, Jake! That's awesome!"

"I'm glad _you_ think so."

The tone of his voice made me question him.

"And you aren't?"

I heard voices in the background. 

"No, it isn't that, Bella. I'm excited, too. But I got to go."

And the line disconnected.

Humph… I set the phone on the counter, not wanting to hang it up in case somebody called again. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

"So… What's with Jake?"

"He's coming home!"

"Oh, that'll be awesome! Why didn't you let me talk to him?"

"I dunno… He kind of sounded like he was in a hurry."

"Oh, okay."

"So…" I said as I sat back down on the chair.

"Yeah?"

"When, exactly, did you get in this morning?"

She shrugged. "I don't know… Maybe eight this morning? Dad picked me up from the airport. When I got home, Edward and Emmett were all moody and depressing." She made a face, "so I asked Mom if she could bring me over here."

"So why is Emmett in a bad mood?"

She shrugged again. "All I know is it had something to do with your sister."

Oh! I laughed. "Rosalie? She went to a dance last night. She said she had more fun than she's had in a long time. She danced with our cousins from out of town most of the time, but she still had fun."

Alice started laughing, and said, "I think Emmett is Jealous of your cousin."

"What?"

She started to laugh harder. "Emmett is like, _in love_ with Rosalie."

When the laughter died down, I questioned her again. "What about Edward?"

Alice's expression changed. "He says you haven't been answering his calls?"

"What! He hasn't been calling me!"

She raised her eyebrow. "He was leaving you a message when I walked in the front door."

"Has he been calling my cell?"

She shrugged. "I suppose. Why?"

"That explains it. I washed my phone in my Jeans the other day and my mom had to ship it off to like Japan or something."

Alice rolled her eyes. "The idiot," she said, and proceeded to take her phone from her bag. She thrust it into my hands and said, "Call him."

I sighed and dialed his number without thinking about it. As he usually did, Edward answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Alice."

"Wrong!"

"Bella? Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, I-"

Before he could get the chance to start to ramble, I decided to intercede. "Edward, no. I'm the one who's sorry. It was my fault."

"How so?"

"I should have taken the stupid phone with me."

"Bella…" he hesitated. "Bella, I have something to tell you. I heard you tell me not to answer it, but I was… curious. I thought… Well, I thought it was someone else, other than Jessica. I'm sorry."

Surprise colored my voice as I answered. "So it _is_ your fault!"

"Bella, I am SO – "

"No, I mean, I'm not mad at you or anything."

"Wait… What?"

"I'm not mad. I seriously needed a break from Jessica. These last few days have been… oddly peaceful."

"Okay, then. But why haven't you been answering your cell?"

I explained. "You could have called the house, you know."

"Yeah, but I figured that if you didn't want to talk to me on the cell, then the landline wouldn't change anything."

I paused. "Yeah, I guess that if I _was_ mad at you that would have been best. But, as that isn't the case, you and Emmett want to come over? We're going to have a little… 'planning meeting.' Because Alice is back with all of our stuff."

"Planning meeting?" he asked skeptically. I wasn't usually the responsible one, and he did all of our planning for us. We used him, and he deserved a break.

"It was the only way I could get my mom to agree to it." I laughed.

"Spoons tournament it is, then." I laughed. He knew me so well. "You know it!"

"So what time?"

"I don't know… Whenever, I guess. Just call me before you leave, alright?"

"Okay… Probably be within the hour. Is that alright?"

I glanced at the hanging clock, which read _1.45 PM._

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Okay. Listen, I'll call you later, alright? I got to finish some homework."

"Okay, talk to you later."

"Bye," I said as I snapped the phone shut. Alice held out her hand. When I gave her the phone, she asked me, "Bella! Why did you do that?"

I shrugged and said, "Dad went fishing, and Mom said that we should have one sooner or later. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity. Sounds like fun, right?"

"Bunches."

"What? Did you have plans or anything?"

"Not exactly…"

"And now you do! Let's go tell my mom."

Alice sighed and got up from the table. "Renee! Bella wants to tell you something!" she shouted. My mother came running into the kitchen from the living room and beyond and said, "What is it? Who died?"

"Nobody _died,_ mom. I just wanted to ask you something."

My mom signed and pulled her long hair into a hair tie. "Yes, Bella?"

"Well, are you doing anything today?"

"Oh, nothing. I was going to go into town and run some errands. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could have a couple of friends over?"

Renee sat at the table, which was never a good sign. I should have stuck with the planning meeting thing. She started thrumming her manicured nails on the table. "Like who?"

"Oh, you know… Just Alice's brothers."

"You're not sixteen."

This was embarrassing. "Rosalie is, mom!"

"That's what I'm worried about…"

"Well, you can call every half hour to see if we've blasted the house down or done something else bad." I looked at her straight on the eye. Eye contact was crucial when trying to persuade my mother.

She caved. "Oh, alright, alright! But make sure you keep the house clean. I have the Clearwater's coming over for a dinner party tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks, mom! Now have fun going shopping," I said as I helped her from her chair. "What? I'm not go-" I interrupted her and said, "Don't spend too much, either." We were at the front hall. I could tell she really didn't get that I was shoving her out of the house. I opened it and she walked outside. "Here are your keys." I took them off of the hook and threw them to her. "Bye, mom! See you later!" and I slammed the door.

Alice was somehow behind me. "I take it she said yes?" I nodded and said, "Hey Alice… Would you run up to Jaspers room and tell him to be down in like an hour?"

"Bella, I don't think that that is such a good idea…"

"Why not?"

"Well, he is your brother, and if I just exploded through the door…"

I rolled my eyes. "You wouldn't be exploding through the door. There's a thing they invented called 'knocking,' see?" I knocked on the counter.

"Bella! Come on… Can't I just go tell Rosalie?"

"What's wrong with Jasper?"

"I just… Please, don't make me!"

"There _is_ a reason you won't go. I _will_ find out, or my name isn't Isabella Marie Swan, fourteen year old private eye."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Private eye? Right. So are you going to tell him?"

"Fine." I got up from my seat and trudged up the stairs. "But I'm warning you, Alice, I will find out. Muahaha!" So much for evil sounding. As I got to his bedroom, I could hear him talking on the phone.

"… okay, that's cool! So do we have a plan, then, or what?"

"Knock knock."

Jasper turned around on his swivel chair and motioned for me to come in.

"Hey, I gotta go, Emmett. Bella needs me," and he hung up.

"Oi. Why are you and Emmett planning something that sounds dangerous?"

He rolled his eyes. "Never you mind. So what do you need?"

"Just wanted to tell you that in an hour, Emmett and Edward are coming over."

"Yeah, I was just talking to him. So I know. But what about Alice?"

"She's already here, actually…"

"She is?"

"Yeah… Why?" I was suspicious.

"No reason… I just wanted to make sure she didn't need a ride over, or anything."

"You were going to give her a ride?"

"Only if she needed it."

My brother could be the most loving person on the earth, and he could also be so odd and secretive.

"But Jazz, you can't drive yet…"

"Okay, time for little sister to leave!"

He stood up and pushed me out the door. "I'm only younger by like two minuets, okay? What difference does it make if you decided not to be a gentleman and let me go first? That's just rude, I think!" I said, and he slammed the door in my face.

Something was going on here, and I, Isabella Marie Swan, fourteen-year-old private eye, was going to find out.


	8. Spoons

I don't own

**Mary's back! Sorry about not updating. Ohkay… So I had Mononucleosis and Cytomegalovirus forever and I, obviously, wasn't feeling that great, which was why I didn't update. Plus I went to Disneyland like two days after I got over it. Forgive me if I can surpass the urge to write while I have a fever. **

**Most of it is filler, as I needed to get**_** something**_** out, and I wanted to let you know that I wasn't like… dead or something. ****I don't own.**

**Ch. 8 **

_Recap: Something was going on here, and I, Isabella Marie Swan, Fourteen-year-old private eye, was going to find out._

I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Alice was peering into her mother-of-pearl compact mirror, messing with her hair, and touching her face.

"Who're _you_ trying to impress?" Alice quickly stuffed her compact mirror back into her pocket and blushed. If you knew Alice, you knew it was pretty hard to embarrass her. I was surprised when she looked up at me and said, "I don't know what you're talking about." I had meant it as a rhetorical question, and she knew it.

"Nobody is coming over that you aren't related to, and the only guy here is –" Oh, land. I didn't know why I hadn't seen it before, I had been through this with Alice before, and I recognized the signs.

"You totally love him!"

"Like I said, no idea what you're talking about…"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Alice."

"You still don't believe me!" she whined. I feigned innocence and said, "Sure I do, Alice!"

"Bella!" she whined, again.

"Admit it! You _like_ him!"

"Fine! I like him, okay?"

I grinned. "Perfect."

Alice rolled her eyes, but then her expression changed as she asked a question. "You don't suppose…"

"What don't I suppose?"

"Well, he doesn't, like, _like_ me, right?" For some weird Alice-y reason, she looked… _hopeful. _Like she didn't want him to like her.

"I don't know. Anything's possible, I suppose," I shrugged. "Why?"

"I don't know… I just, if he _did,_ I wouldn't know what to… what to believe."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Would he be just lying to me, like to make a fool out of me?"

"What? Alice, you don't really believe that he'd do that! Even if he _didn't _like you, I'm sure he would let you down slowly, instead of shoving you off the cliff."

"Well, yeah, but I… I don't know!!" she wailed.

I had had enough. Slowly, I walked over to the stairs and yelled, "Jasper! Can you come down here for a moment?"

"Bella!" she hissed into my ear. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I shoved her away, and said, "Just wait a second, okay? I'm not going to clue him in, I swear."

At that moment, Jasper came down the stairs and said, "Clue me in on what?"

I glanced at Alice out of the corner of my eye, and saw that she was without an expression.

I stuck my tongue out at Jasper and said, "You very well know that I just said that I wasn't going to say, Jazz." He shrugged, and said, "Ah, well. Worth a shot, right?"

"In your dreams."

"Well, little sister, what do you need?"

I gestured toward the table. "Sit, and I'll ask you." I saw Alice getting up to go into the living room, so I added, "You too." Alice groaned audibly, and so I walked over to where she was standing and whispered in her ear, "Alice, don't worry. I swear you will benefit from this."

"Okay, so what do you guys need?"

"Well, Jazz," I said as I sat down, "We – that is to say, Alice and I – we're kind of having a guy problem."

Jasper mockingly rubbed his chin. "Well, what is the name of this guy?"

I thought for a moment, and said, "His name is… Well, let's call him… Steve." I offered. Steve. What a bland name. **(A/N: I love the name Steve. It rocks. xD)**

"Steve? Huh… Well, what's wrong, Alice?" he addressed only her.

"Okay, well… This guy is _really_ cute, and considerate, and I like him, like _a lot._ And I don't know what to do, because I want to ask him if he likes me, but what if he doesn't? I'm like super confused!" Alice wailed, and buried her face in her hands.

Jasper was being all loving again. Unlike some other brothers, he was listening and not… laughing. If I wasn't his sister, I would probably like him, too.

My phone pinged, letting me know I had a text. I opened my phone, to look at who was interrupting me, and I was surprised to found it was Jasper. I opened the text and it read,

**Do I know this… "Steve?"**

I thought for a minute. Should I tell him? Or would he just… laugh at Alice, like she was so worried about? I shook my head, and then decided that he wouldn't do that.

_**Well, yeah. He lives inside of you or whatever. **_

Two minuets later, it pinged again.

**Does that mean what I think it means?**

_**If you're thinking that Steve is you, then yes. Do you like her?**_

No more answering pings came after that. Jasper was talking to Alice, completely unaffected by his newfound information. He was giving her advice, like, "Just be yourself – Steve should be able to get to know you, Alice." He smiled. "Talk to him for more than five consecutive minutes."

They were talking and discussing some other things. I smiled; Alice was already following his advice. She had discovered a lot of things about him that even _I_ did not know. They were discussing first boy/girl friends, and Jasper had said, "You know, I've never really had one…"

Rosalie interjected from up the stairs. I hadn't even known she was in hearing range. "What about that one chick who called you all the time last year?"

Jasper shuddered. "Thanks for the reminder, Rose. Amelia Greene. I picked her books up for her when her arm was broken, and she immediately thought we were 'going out.' I didn't get any time to do homework or anything during that five day period."

Alice raised her eyebrow. "Why didn't you let her go before that?"

He shrugged. "I just thought it would be so… cruel, of me to do that. But then, I had told her, 'Look. If I _did_ like you, I wouldn't be trying to hang up on you all the time. I wouldn't be trying to get out of conversations, I would be starting them. Understand?'" He shuddered again at the memory.

We were talking and laughing together, watching the clock tick on. Finally, somebody knocked on the door. "Oh, crap! Is it that time already?" I said as I stood up to answer the door. But before I got out of the kitchen, Edward and Emmett were already standing in the hall, grinning.

"Way to wait for me, gosh," I muttered.

"What was that, Bella?" Emmett asked, amused.

"Er… Come in?" I offered, shrugging my shoulders.

"Right…"

I stood aside, letting Emmett and Edward through. They both had two liter bottles of soda in their hands.

"What's this?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Food was to be provided by me.

"Not food, if that's what you're thinking about," Edward teased.

"Obviously. Well, put all your junk on the kitchen counter." I stuck my hand in my pocket to pull out a deck of playing cards.

"SPOONS!" Emmett yelled from the couch. We all laughed. Slowly, everybody migrated their way into the living room, sitting in a large circle on the carpet. Everybody was laughing and talking, mingling. This was one thing that I loved about our two families. Everybody was always welcome to come and talk to one another, no matter whom or what the age difference was. We were all good friends.

Jasper shuffled the cards, and we played.

Two hours later, we were sitting on the floor, laughing. More specifically, laughing at Edward.

We were playing, and I suddenly realized that I had a set of four sixes. So I had grabbed a spoon. **(This is how I play it.)** And then immediately after that, everyone followed suit. But, Edward didn't know that they were gone, as he was concentrating on getting another four. _"Where is that flipping four…"_ So we were passing cards, staring at him, waiting for him to look up. And then after maybe fifteen minuets, he must have gotten that four, because he looked all excited for a moment. That is, until he looked at the center of the circle.

"Crap! How long have you been doing this to me?"

I teased him, saying, "Is Edward paying attention now?"

He cleared his throat, and stood up. "We should start talking about the lot."

Everyone groaned, except for Rosalie and I. She said, "Edward's right. Now that we have our stuff," she elbowed Alice in the ribs, "we need to get back into the game."

We all got up off of the floor and sat down on the couch.

"So… What's happened?" I asked, and Edward stood up.

"Well… We've made progress. People are starting to notice us, or at least pay more attention."

Jasper said, "Yeah, that's great and everything. But what about action?"

"We're working on that!"

"Yes, but _how?"_

Edward didn't seem to know.

"I think we need to have a fundraiser," Rosalie said.

"Good idea, Rose. Bake sales are always fun," I said.

"Yeah, but not everybody here can bake…"

"Enough people can. We can get mixes if that's what it comes down to."

"Okay, so that's what we'll do?"

Emmett sunk down in the chair, and Rosalie smacked him on the arm. "Grow up. It's not hard to bake, you know," Emmett rubbed his arm where her arm had hit it. He mumbled, "Easy for you to say…"

"Well… I think that's enough business for today!" Jasper said, clearly relieved. Who knew _baking_ could be such a bad prospect for boys?

Emmett started shuffling the cards again, and I grabbed the spoons.


	9. Hiatus

**Temporarily on Hiatus; **A break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

**Because I said so. **


End file.
